Which upgraded tires for the BRZ?
 

Well, I've never started a thread before, but I'm looking for comments and opinions from all youse guys on my question and I hope this is the right way to solicit them.

I have been a tire upgrader my whole life, buying slightly wider and taller rubber for each car I've owned. Now it's my daily driver BRZ whose OE rubber is wearing down to the point that I would be nervous facing the rainy/snowy season without new shoes on him to be sure he goes where I point him. While many of you scoff at the Primacies as "Prius tires," I'm certain the designers have chosen the 215/45 as the size that maximizes traction, handling, economy, etc.

Nonetheless, I have found in the past that moving from 195 to 225, for example, has a very nice effect on ride and other qualities, as long as they fit, and I've become adept at calculating in my head the difference between speedo and actual speed (we call that "bistro math" around here). I have enjoyed the Conti Extreme Contact DWS recently on my previous car, am looking for a Performance All Season tire, and would consider even the 245/40 some of you have used -- do you need spacers for that size, or what.



So, I'm sure there's lots of wisdom out there. Please fire away.

:thanks:

225/45 for good upsize that fits stock 7" width. 235/40 is a little too much width.
Tirerack.com for reviews, compare to the dws you had before. Read the width ranges for the wheel size.
No spacers needed.

First of all, look here: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25177

You won't need spacers for 245's, but putting very wide tires on a car with as little power as the BRZ will just slow the car down.

Personally, I will be upgrading to 17x8 wheels and 225/40 PSS's. You want your tire to be stretched across the wheel and not be loose, but you also don't want it to be too tight or your ride quality will be harsh.

Planning on staying with stock wheels? Most would say not to go wider than 225 for them. I'm actually on 205/45. I had DWS and Bridgestone RE970AS on another car. Enjoyed the Bstones much more in the corners due to I'm guessing stiffer sidewalls.

First off, the "designers" chosing this tire is all corperate bs. It's all about who can provide enough tires for the lowest price. So get that idea out of your head forever.

a 245 tire on the stock wheels is too much. 225/45 would be your best beat for comfort and grip.

If you are looking for a nice Performance All-Season tire, take a hard look at the Conti ExtremeContact DWS06. The '06' is the new version which has much stiffer sidewalls but still maintains the good snow and wet traction that the DWS had. My wife has them on her car and loves them.

AHHHH another conspiracy theorist. You are wrong. So very very wrong.
ALL parts of a car are speced very carefully to work together as a whole. Up to and including the stock tires. Price is only one small factor in the decision on what parts to use.
Hell the design team even explains why they went with the tires they did in the development story.

Ha! Like wise sir.

If that was true about tires the factory would allow you to chose your own tires. But it's really not the case at all. Mitchelin won the contract to provid tires to Toyota because their price was a good one.

Maybe in the future Hankook tires will be OEM for the twins.
By the way Hankook tires won bids to be OEM tires for certain Merceds Benz, BMW, Ford and even Toyota. Wrap your head around that.

Don't forget some of the twins got BridgeStone's as there OEM tires.

Yep, pretty much who ever wins the contract for that production year.

+1

I have stock rims, changed from the std Primacy to Pilot Sport 3 in 225/45, great tyre, increased grip, BUT less steering feel is noticeable.

Nope, climate based.

Also the OEM tire for the 16inch rims on some models were Yokohama.

jarnojvv: Pilot Sport 3 is completely different to PSS many mention. I heard that PS4 might be closer to PSS performance, but PS3 IIRC is of completely different rubber compound (wasn't it from exhalto line?) sharing similar model name just due marketing reasons. It may still have more grip then stock primacies due those being low rolling resistance eco tires, but i wouldn't expect wonders from PS3.

Which upgraded tires for the BRZ?
 

Sure, but this was pre ps4, and pss doesn't come in std rim size. Grippiest tires available locally were conti5 or ps3...

FYI
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article...ss-Release.htm

Yeah, initially 215/45/17 & 225/45/17 were mostly available US side, but since around year i noticed PSS-es of those sizes also listed in local internet tire shops here in LV (from which i guess, they should be available elsewhere in EU too).

Hmm you may have a point here. I live in Michigan and the FRS I bought came with the Bridgestone Turanzas which are All-seasons. This means that the 2013 Model came with 3 different tire selections leading credibility to your statement as well as @Tcoat about the design team selecting optimal tires rather then being swayed by contracts.

This...exactly

Yes. As I clearly said the specs are the primary importance. Price comes way down the list. They determine what they want on the car and THEN look for the best price in that range. It is more likely that Bridgetone met the AS specs they wanted better than anything that Michelin had than that they were on sale at the Joes Tire Wholesale Warehouse that week.

This^

So, I'm actually an engineer for a tire company, and this is not how it works. When an OEM seeks out a tire, they reach out to the tire operations that they feel can provide what they want. Engineers from the OEM give specific characteristics of the vehicle to the tire engineers and the team goes through several "iterations" of test tires until the OEM is happy with how the tire performs on the car. That tire is specifically tailored to the vehicle it goes on. The price is only one small step in tire selection.

That being said, to the OP, 225 45 is a good match on this car for a more grip oriented tire from the performance summer category. I upgraded to an high performance summer tire in the stock 215 size and I'm not lacking any grip on the street and still have tons of fun at autocross.

Makes sense that way. Still price and winning contracts play a role. Always learn something from the forums. Cool beans.

why all season? Do you really see that many cold/snowy/icy days? Honestly if you do getting winter tires on the stock wheels and a lighter better wheel with summer tires would be a better option. This car on good winter tires is totally rock solid no matter how much snow you see.